National Network Coordinating Office

The National Network Coordinating Office (NNCO), located at the National Library of Medicine, oversees the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM). The goal of the NNLM is to advance the progress of medicine and improve public health by providing U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information and improving individual's access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health.

The NNLM is the core of NLM's outreach program to reduce health disparities and improve health information literacy. Funded by NLM, through cooperative agreements, eight Regional Medical Libraries (RMLs) and five National Offices provide a variety of NNLM outreach services such as, project funding, training, presentations, exhibits, technology support and other types of public programs.

The role of NNCO is to coordinate the Network’s programs through the RMLs and National Offices, and chair the National Network Steering Committee (NNSC). The NNSC comprises NNCO staff and representatives from each RML and from the National Offices. The NNSC also implements common operational and evaluation processes for programs of the RMLs and national offices. This enables the NNSC and its members to monitor performance differences to identify successful strategies for expansion, and to recommend corrective action when needed.